OpenAI hoped to shrink the menu of generative AI models on its ChatGPT platform to just one with the release of its GPT-5 model this week. Not everyone was a fan.

Now CEO Sam Altman says the developer is looking at giving ChatGPT Plus subscribers the option to keep using the older 4o model.

Altman and other OpenAI leaders took questions on Reddit on Friday, a day after the announcement of the new GPT-5 model. A quick glance through the comments revealed how many users preferred how older models like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.5 and 4o handled writing and other tasks. Some said the other models seemed more friendly and conversational than GPT-5.

«BRING BACK 4o,» one user posted, «GPT-5 is wearing the skin of my dead friend.»

Another said GPT-5 is «short» and «cold» compared to GPT-4, adding, «It was terrible that this happened overnight with no other options.»

Altman, posting in the AMA, said OpenAI will look into making 4o or other models available for Plus users. Altman said «we hear you all on 4o» and that OpenAI will monitor usage to see how long to support 4o for Plus users.

The rollout of GPT-5 was «a little more bumpy than we hoped for,» Altman said. The program that decides whether a prompt will be handled by a faster, lighter model within GPT-5 or a more intensive reasoning model was not working for part of Thursday, he said. The rollout of GPT-5 to all users has also taken longer than expected.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition stumped me all over the place today. Growing up in Minnesota surrounded by ice hockey, I was able to nail the green group, but I didn’t do so well otherwise. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Throw it in there.

Green group hint: Five for fighting.

Blue group hint: On the ice.

Purple group hint: Crimson Tide.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Baseball pitching arm slots.

Green group: Hockey penalties.

Blue group: PWHL teams.

Purple group: Former Alabama QBs.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball pitching arm slots. The four answers are overhand, sidearm, submarine and three-quarters.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is hockey penalties.  The four answers are boarding, cross-checking, hooking and interference.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is PWHL teams. The four answers are Charge, Fleet, Frost and Sirens.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is former Alabama QBs.  The four answers are Namath, Stabler, Starr and Young.

Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition

#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?

#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.

#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.

I love my dog, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She’s brown and white and precious, and I take every opportunity to show her to the world. With an iPhone feature called Live Stickers, I can turn photos of her into emoji and stickers, and then text them to others.

Apple introduced Live Stickers in iOS 17 as an evolution of the tap-and-lift feature from iOS 16, which lets you cut out subjects from photos and Live Photos. Now, by saving those cutouts as emoji and stickers of pets, family and friends, you can send endless cuteness to others.

Here’s how to transform your photos into emoji and stickers to send in Messages and other apps.

How to make Live Stickers and emoji from pictures

1. Open your Photos app.
2. Tap the photo you want to turn into an emoji or sticker.
3. Tap and hold the item in the photo you want to turn into an emoji or sticker until you see the white outline.
4. Tap Add Sticker.

Your iPhone will then add the Live Sticker to your Stickers drawer and appear in your emoji keyboard. If you tap the new sticker, you’ll be given the options to Rearrange, Add Effect or Delete it. Tapping Add Effect will let you add an effect to your sticker, like a white outline, to make it look even more like a sticker. 

The next time you go into Messages, you can use your new sticker as an emoji by tapping the emoji keyboard in the bottom-left corner of your screen, tapping the folded-over circle and tapping the emoji you want to use.

According to Apple, you can use your new Live Sticker anywhere you can access emoji. I tried to use my Live Stickers on the messaging app Slack, but they wouldn’t appear in the app. I also couldn’t access my Live Stickers in some third-party apps, like TikTok, so you might run into some issues when using your Live Stickers outside of Apple apps and devices.

For more on iOS, here are my first impressions of the iOS 26 beta, how to enable call screening in the beta and all the other new features Apple said that update will bring to your device later this year.